The rambles of a non-professionally produced playwright and his attempts to make the big time.

Friday, 24 November 2006

Sub Spree – Day 11

So, there goes a (one) script to a pro theatre…

I didn’t realise how much this spree was going to cost. I now wish that I had given myself a month’s notice and set aside a couple of quid to cover the costs.

Since the Royal Mail changed its postage charges it’s made submitting very expensive.

It wasn’t cheap before, but this is getting silly!

If agents/theatre/et al want to read new writing then they are going to have to wake up and realise that this is the 21st century!

Email works… Indeed at work they have a rule…

I’ve been in the military for 10 years now. When I joined I was told to beware of answer phones and ‘voicemail’. Because you can receive ‘orders’ by them. These days we’re told not to ‘leave a message’ but send them an email – that way you have an audit trail. In other words, ‘orders’ by email – and back up to prove you made that order.

Military efficiency…

I can almost understand (given my military experience) why these people are reluctant to accept email submissions. After all, it’s far too easy to send one, so a slush pile would get far too deep, far too soon.

But with the advent of the new UK postal charges, they are going to have to change their rules.

Accept email submissions; but use the same rules are US literary agents: Only accept the first 10 pages of a script (which take 6 mins to read). If you haven’t hooked an audience by then, you haven’t got a play.

I know that these people will then try to complain about the possibility of encountering a virus.

But then I would state that what is wrong with RTF files…? As far as I know (and I would love to be corrected, and I have been working as an Information Technology Security Officer on and off for the last 5 years) there is no mechanism for an RTF to carry a virus, as they are just enhanced TXT files.

If they don’t wake up to email submissions, these people are going to find that they are going to lose new talent and have to accept that theatre is dead in this country – even though there are people out there writing for it to stay alive, but can’t justify the expense of being discovered.

Why do I say that?

This is day 11…

So far I guess that I have submitted/pitched over 60 agents/theatres (okay, only one of those)/AmDram groups. In that I have only received two email replies. Making my return rate less than 1.6%.

My calculations today indicate that I had gone purely postal I would have now spent in excess of £140. If I was posting manuscripts, and over £40 if I had posted pitches and the full manuscripts that I have sent.

Thankfully today, I also managed to pitch another 12 AmDram groups (free to me, if you don’t count my broadband connectivity).

But…

If we want theatre to survive in this country…

The pros have to wake up and realise that technology is not evil. The newest form of entertainment (the internet) can aid us to resurrect the oldest (and I mean theatre, not prostitution!).

Labels:

Wednesday, 22 November 2006

Formatting

There would appear to be a problem with one of the PCs that I publish the blog from.

For some reason (unknown to me) it refuses to understand the returns I put in and does some rather strange things to the font sizes...

If you encounter a strange format post, carry on and read it... Once I get to the other PC, I'll make sue that I reformat it.

As they said in 'The Cruel Sea': "It's only a small thing... But you might as well get it right."

Sub Spree – Day 10

Arrgh!


I had my mind all set up! I was going to post off to all of these professional theatres today, leaving me Friday to send off the competition entries.


Picture the scene: I have all of my printed manuscripts, I manage to craft a personalised cover letter to each company, I place each submission into it’s beautifully printed envelope (ensuring that I had a self-addressed envelope for each)… I march them over to the post office at lunchtime…


Where the hell is my wallet?


Memory kicks in… There it is, on the dressing table, right next to my ID card. I reach for the ID card… My daughter calls me… I go to see what she wants… I answer her questions… I leave the house…


THE WALLET’S STILL ON THE DRESSING TABLE!

Damnitall!


I made up for it by pitching another batch of AmDram groups (I’m pitching them by county, if your interested… West Sussex got the call today – I’m starting near home to start).


10 emails gone… 2 ‘Oh I don’t know this address’ messages received.


Right up until this morning, I was wondering if it was worth pitching these folks… After all, I’ve been firing away for a while now and received nothing. Urinating into the wind struck a chord…

Until this morning:

"XXXX Theatre Group regularly produce new writing. We have a writers group and a number of the members have had works published. I will pass your details on to the committee. Please excuse the brevity of this reply only it's first night tonight and time is short. I'll let you know what the committee decide in early December.

Thank you for getting in touch."

At last, I touch base with another human! And even better, we’re talking about a group that’s producing plays – I mean, last night they were all stood in the wings with stage fright!


So, I now have to send off the pro theatre submissions tomorrow and leave the competition entries until Saturday.


Question from the Comments…


I mentioned this in a previous comments thread, but I think it needs mentioning here…

"I think the core concept of a submission spree is brilliant (and I really, really hope it hooks it for you Jay)- but my big concern with ORGANISED SS's like Stageplays' is that you end up creating competition!"

And I have to agree.

I would like to have taken part in a sub spree with others, just for the camaraderie. But I’m the first to admit that I’m a optimistic pessimist … I hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

Sure, doing it with others might have encouraged me a bit… But a part of my brain would constantly have thought “by posting who you have submitted to, you’re just encouraging others to submit to them… Hence you’re just making the slush pile higher… Is that going to make it easier for me to get read?


It’s a painful truth, but writing is a solo adventure. We can use forums and blogs to keep in contact with the aspiring writing community… But at the end of the day, if you want to move away from amateur writing status, you have to make the move and devote the effort yourself.


The more I continue this sub spree – the more I realise that I have made the right decision to go it alone.


I have proven to myself that I have the determination and commitment require… It has encouraged me to write more… It has given me inspiration for new plays… It has reminded me of WIPs that I really want to finish…


So for those of you that are out there with plays in hand that are considering submitting them… Just do it… You’ll prove something to yourself… Even if it’s to take a reality pill that I didn’t.

Labels:

Tuesday, 21 November 2006

Calling all links!

This is a bit of self promotion in the other direction.

I know for this site/blog to become of real use for me to achieve my goal, I need to get more traffic.

So I’m calling on all of you to send me links that you would like attached to the website – and especially the blog.

How does that help anyone… Well, word of mouth is one of the best ways to promote a blog. And if you send me a link that you want promoted, then I’ll put it up!

Most people link to this blog via my website, which you have to admit is easy to remember. Most amateur links aren’t that easy (trust me, having pitched them over the last few days – I know).

But there are a couple of conditions…

If you suggesting a link to a theatrical resource – I’ll check out that link and place it on the Blog if I can see the benefit of it to theatre clubs.

If you want to link to a theatre club – Then I’d ask that you read one of my manuscripts and write me a review… However I don’t need smoke blowing up my rear end. I want criticism as well as positive comments. Any review that doesn’t include shortfalls/errors in script/parts that didn’t grab you will not gain your club a link on the site.

So come on – let’s make this blog/site a more usefull resource – to all it users.

Send me those links!

Either leave a comment or email me at info@jaysplays.net

Let’s make a difference!

Sub Spree – Day 9

Do competitions count?


I took a look at the BBC Writersroom and saw that there are a two competitions I could enter.


That in itself was somewhat of a shock. There are few competitions that are open to everyone, and I have blogged about this before (see Label ‘Submission Competitions’).


I think that I am going to enter the Drama Association of Wales’ and King’s Cross’ competitions. But there is one tiny thing that makes me nervous.


Both of these competitions require payment of an Entry Fee!


Every bone in my writing body says that I shouldn’t pay these things and I’ve ranted on about it before. But this spree is making me reconsider…


Let me make this clear, I will never submit a manuscript to an agent, theatre or literary professional that charges a reading fee. But competitions…?


I think in this case, I might be tempted… These things cost money to run, and there is no real mechanism for them to make money out of your writing. The other’s I have listed cannot morally charge reading fees, as they aim to make money out of your writing.


What does still concern me however is the disparity of the charges.


King’s Cross are charging £5 per full-length play, but the Drama Association of Wales is charging £10 per one-act play (20 to 50 mins). That hardly sounds right…


But this time, I’ll think I’ll risk it. That means that I will be forking out £30 in entry fees (2 full-length, 2 one-acts… And before your ask, yes that does mean that I am working on a one act at the moment).


Returning to the Sub Spree


By lunch I managed to fire of 8 pitches to various theatre groups. But as I said yesterday, I ended up with two emails being returned. I've also mailed to myself a list of 10 other companies to pitch this evening (I wonder how many of those have redundat emails?).


I also managed to email the organisers of the two competitions that I mentioned. I received a very pleasant email from the Welsh connection… I guess that’s what has turned me to say that I will enter these competitions, even though there is an entry fee.


Submitting Scripts!


So I’ve decided that tomorrow has to concentrate on sending scripts to professional theatres. My only problem with this, is sending a manuscript without the magic words ‘requested material’ on the envelope.


But, nothing ventured, nothing gained.


Hence tomorrow I can post off to three theatres. Those being, The Bush Theatre, The Royal Court and The Soho Theatre.


The question I will ponder this evening is which play to send.


I guess the only way to play with that question is to resume the writing.


As I mentioned earlier, I want to send the Welsh lot two one-act plays. So I’ll resume writing the second this evening, placing me back in the writing mode and being able to better assess what to submit to these guys…


So on to writing and calculating what play to send!

Labels: ,

Monday, 20 November 2006

Sub Spree – Day 8

One hell of day.

Domestically things could have been more hectic.

My wife was due in for a scheduled eye operation. With two little ones, that’s bad enough. But my Mum ended up being admitted to hospital – and of course that would have to happen just after I get home. I’m not there to offer my Dad any support – but I’m sure my sister and her partner can offer all he needs.

I was just sat here feeling impotent. So what could I do?

I had told my Mum over the weekend about this submission spree of mine. She was very excited about it, especially the request to send my script to one of the best theatres in London (and it was a theatre that my Mum had heard of – and she only goes to the theatre to see Panto and musicals that she’s heard of!).

So I sat behind the PC and managed to pitch 20 amateur companies…

But here’s a tip for all of you that reside in AmDram land: If you have a website, make sure you update it!

I made a point of not pitching a company that showed their last production as some point in 2005 (are you still running).

Additionally, I say that I have pitched 20 companies; but that doesn’t mean that I sent 20 emails. In truth, I sent about 27.

I have spent the last couple of minutes deleting ‘Mail delivery failed: returning message to sender’ emails. If you have a website, make sure your emails are valid.

Changing tack, I feel that I have placed myself in a AmDram rut at the moment. Not that I am going to worry too much. I’m going to pitch a few more tomorrow, but I’ll be thinking of ways that I can pitch the pro’s on Day 10.

There is something special about the way that this spree is making me feel. AmDram tomorrow, Pro’s on Wednesday!

Labels:

Sub Spree – Day 6 & 7

No excuses, but nothing happened with the submission spree over the weekend.

Mum was not too well, so I spent most of my time cooking and looking after her. When I wasn’t doing that, I ended up looking after my two children.

It’s strange, but when you are unwell, there’s nothing quite like kids to make you feel a bit better…

Mum commented that she liked the fact that I had travelled home to make sure that she was okay – but moreover, having the opportunity to watch my two wreak havoc over her beautiful home kept her smiling and saying how much of tonic they were for her.

Will hit the submission spree with vengeance again on Day 8!

Labels:

Friday, 17 November 2006

Sub Spree – Day 5

I’m all geared up to visit my parents so that I can offer as much assistance as possible, given my mother’s health.

But I am determined that I am going to keep up with the submissions spree as far as practicable.

As such, I have managed to send out a number of emails to amateur theatre societies, asking if they would be interested in my works.

Given the way I have created the emails, I’m fairly sure that they will at least look at the plays, as I have pointed out that my works have won a number of awards and that I run performance fees in a manner that works better for amateur groups (ie, they only pay after the final performance when they have the money – and their payment is based on total ticket sales).

But the real excitement of the day came from the reviewer of Denim. I received an email from her this morning saying that she had contacted a professional friend of hers. She then included a cut-and-paste of what this friend has said.

Effectively it was a request to forward a manuscript to a provided address…

That address was one of the best known theatres in London! And this comment was from the company manager of this theatre!

So a freshly printed manuscript is now in the post to London. I know it’s a long shot, but there is something exciting about having one of your won manuscripts heading to such a well established and respected theatre.

Given the fact that I will be at my parent this weekend, I can’t guarantee that I will be blogging for Days 6 and 7… But I’ll be doing my best.

Labels:

Thursday, 16 November 2006

Sub Spree - Day 4

And another pitch has been fired out.

I can see a snag coming up for a couple of days. Unfortunately, my mother has been taken very ill, requiring me to visit and assist my parents for a few days. But I'm not going to be pessimistic about this. Dad has a very healthy internet connection - so the worst case scenario is that I can do some more research on who to pitch.

I am going to visit AmDram.co.uk to develop a list of amateur companies that I can pitch - so if all I can do over the weekend is email, then if I take this list I should be able to pitch a number of groups.

And a quick note about the agent I forwarded Denim to... It's the little touches that can make a big impression. I received an email stating that the agent was going to be out-of-office for the rest of yesterday and most of today.

Now, I know this is an automated response - but the fact that the agent in question even thought to log their computer as out of office shows a human element that is often lacking in this industry.

Labels:

Wednesday, 15 November 2006

Sub Spree - Day 3

First thing this morning I opened my inbox to find an email from the reviewer of Denim. Unfortunately she didn't feel that she had any useful professional contacts for me. But she did give me a couple of tips on where to find the addresses of theatre clubs to pitch.

I managed to get my 5 minutes with the director I mentioned yesterday. Not too much hope there, as he is looking for something with a large cast so that he can involve as many people as possible in his next production. The only play of mine that fits that bill is 'Denim', but as he is entering the Royal Navy Theatre Festival, he is more than aware that Denim won Production of the Year in that festival. Of course this makes him apprehensive of re-running the same play.

I now need to work out who I am going to pitch today... Back to the contact list.

_____________

The internet can be a great tool, but there are limitations. I have just sent of an enquiry to another (very big and well respected) agency in London. On one listing it states that this agent is willing to accept email submissions - and that is VERY rare in the UK market. But another listing includes a message from that agent saying that they are very busy and are unable to accept new clients at the moment.

Rather than flash this agent up, I decided to post a quick email asking if they are able to accept any stage play submissions, rather than clutter their inbox with another unwanted attachment. But I did make sure that I included the link to the website - who knows if they will click on it.

On that note, I checked the traffic to my site last night. I have one of those web trackers that tells you who, when and where people were browsing. So far, traffic has slightly increased - but it would appear that none of this new traffic was from London (and hence the agents I've pitched so far). Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I know that we are only three days into the Spree, but I feel good and concerned. Good - because this is something proactive and cannot do any harm. Concerned - because in the internet age, one would like to have responses far faster than the industry can provide, plus I feel the positive results may be AmDram biased.

Not that there is anything wrong with AmDram, but my goal is professional status.

_____________

Okay, so I got a response from the agent I pitched today. Quite simply, I am stunned by the response. I want this person to represent me after one email! Why? Because not only is this agency in the 21st century by accepting email submissions… but this email response treated me as a human. There was humour, inspiration and encouragement in one email. Plus there was acceptance that not everyone pitching an agent can know what that agent is looking for.

So, as requested I forwarded a brief cover letter and a copy of one of my plays. The latter part was the hardest decision. I asked in my email what this agent liked best as a cast size. Their response was to send what was my favourite.

How could I choose between Prime, Denim and Mark? I love them all, for different reasons. I know that Mark is my most financially viable play, but my gut told me to send Denim, as it has the content closest to my heart. I did caveat to the agent that this is my most cast intensive play – and should me writing be of interest, but the cast size prohibitive, I would love the opportunity to submit Mark.

So that’s the first script physically under the nose of an agent in this spree!

Labels:

Tuesday, 14 November 2006

Sub Spree – Day 2

I’ve just emailed the reviewer of Denim. So here’s hoping that she has a professional contact that might be willing to have a look at one of my manuscripts. If not... bring on the list of AmDram groups.

I’m also reviewing my list of who I can forward my next pitch to. The problem that I have today is that I have a number of meetings. So, I think that I’ll have to settle for an email pitch to someone. Time to review the contacts list…
____________

Done! Pitch sent to a London-based agent. I’ve used much the same format as I used for yesterday’s pitch. I’m very interested to know if (given that the email is rather short) the recipient would be tempted to click on the link to my website. Seeing as I am indicating that the first act of my (currently ready) full-length plays are available to view on the site – I wonder if any will have a quick look?
____________

Just been given the ‘heads up’ that there is a amateur director that works fairly close to me that is looking for a play to produce in the 2007 Royal Navy Theatre Festival. Seeing as he is substantially more senior than me, I’ve managed to book a 5 minute call on him tomorrow morning. That gives me the opportunity to print out the manuscripts to give him to review. I think that this will be the first ‘face-to-face’ submission I’ll have achieved in this spree.

Labels:

Monday, 13 November 2006

Sub Spree – Day 1

Well, I’m up and running.
I’ve contacted an agent asking if they are accepting submissions at the moment. While this may not sound like a pitch, I did include a link to my website pointing out where they can view my award wins and read the first act of each play – so I’m my world, that counts! Plus this agent claims that he has a response time of 3 weeks! So if I get a request for a partial or full manuscript I will be delighted.

As I mentioned in the previous entry, I’ve also noticed that a number of agents and theatres will only take submissions on the basis of a recommendation of a professions. As such, I’ve contacted the Southern Daily Echo to see if the reviewer of Denim (and supporter that endorsed its award of Production of the Year) has any professional contacts that might be willing to read the manuscript. If not, I’m sure that she will have a list of amateur companies that I can pitch to see if they would be interested in producing one of my plays.

I’ve also noted that a number of agents want you to submit a CV along with your manuscript. Now, the last time I used a CV to get a job was over 10 years ago – but I’m fairly sure that’s not the kind of CV they mean. A couple of years ago I had to generate an acting CV when I went up for a TV audition.

I guess it’s time to hit Google to see what a playwright’s CV might look like.

_____

I’ve had a response that my email has been forwarded to the reviewer in question (in the hope of finding a professional that would review one of my manuscripts, or provide a list of AmDram companies to pitch to). I just hope that she loved my play as much as she said she did.

I’ve also found a plethora of playwright CVs. I’ve devoted an half an hour of my lunch to develop my own. Comments please!
__________
Jay Saunders
Jay Saunders worked as a journalist prior to joining the Royal Navy as a Commissioned Officer in 1996. Born in Yeovil, he graduated with a BEng in Electronic Engineering from Middlesex Polytechnic. He now divides his time between his roles as a Lieutenant Commander and playwright. He is married to Jane, and has three children.
Saunders’ plays staged in Portsmouth, Fareham and Oxfordshire; each play attracting multiple awards at their premieres.
He has recently completed his latest play with Philip Swinford ‘Stage F(r)ight’ based on his experience of entering Channel 4’s ‘The Play’s The Thing’. At present he is writing two plays based on his experiences within commercial radio and ‘so called’ spies respectively.


THEATRE PLAYS WRITTEN AND PRODUCED.
Prime Directive. Directed by Jay Saunders. Theatre of the Royal Marine Band Service, Portsmouth 2002
Prime Directive. Directed by Michelle Addison. Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham. 2003. Royal Navy Theatre Festival Production of the Year Winner.
Mark of a Gentleman. Directied by Matt Cooper. Defence Academy, Shrivenham. 2004. Royal Navy Theatre Festival Adjudicator’s Award Winner.
Denim. Directed by Peter Trott. Collingwood RSC, Fareham. 2004. Southern Daily Echo Curtain Call Production of the Year Award Winner. Royal Navy Theatre Festival Production of the Year Winner.

WORKS IN PROGRESS.
Breakfast Show Based on experiences within UK commercial radio.
Elementary my Dear Harry. Based on experiences of meeting people that claim to be spies.
UN PRODUCDED WORKS
Folio Based on photographic and modelling worlds, exposing who is exploiting whom.
Stage F(r)ight Based on the experience of entering Channel 4’s ‘The Play’s The Thing’. (With Philip Swinford)


INTERESTS
Science
Acting/Stage Combat
Ballroom Dancing
__________
For some reason (probably all to correct) I feel that this comes over as far too short, far too unprofessional and a little too needy. Let’s see how this develops over the next few days.

Labels:

Submission Spree

Now I’ve got myself back to writing, the same old demons have returned. ‘Why haven’t I secured a professional production when I’ve had such great feedback on my productions to date?’

Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be a ramble about how the industry is against new writing, or a ‘feel sorry for me, I’m an aspiring professional playwright that just needs a break’. This time I’m going to do something about it.

On visiting a few playwrights’ forums (and a number of writers’ forums for that matter) I have discovered this concept of Submission Sprees.

The idea is that over a 30 day period, you devote your efforts to pitching your work. Such events are normally done as a group effort to keep each other motivated – but I’ve decided to do it on my own, rather than have to wait for the next spree to start.

I’m going to pitch agents, theatres and production companies (both professional and amateur). My aim is to post at least one submission a day for the next 30 days.

I’ll also have to do quite a bit of phoning around, as some of the contacts I have found stipulate that I would need a professional recommendation (something else I have bleated on about in the past). Here’s my opportunity to make that happen.

I shall endeavour to blog frequently, telling all about the progress I have made. But I don’t know if I should name each of the people/companies that I pitch…

I’ll make my first pitch today, so I’ll blog again today and see if I’ve made up my mind to name people by then.

Time to post the first pitch!

Labels: